Yawkey Trust Could Gets More Money

Published 7:00 pm, Thursday, January 3, 2002

Miles Prentice's rejected $750 million bid for the Boston Red Sox would have resulted in $9 million less for the Yawkey Trust than John Henry's winning $660 million bid, one of the team's limited partners said.

Samuel A. Tamposi, in a letter obtained by The Boston Globe, said that under Prentice's bid, he and other limited partners would have demanded that proceeds be divided strictly according to their percentage of ownership. That would have left $401 million for the Jean R. Yawkey Trust, which owns a 53 percent controlling interest, instead of $410 million it would get under Henry's bid.

Tamposi outlined the comparison in a letter to state Attorney General Thomas Reilly, who is reviewing the sale after the Red Sox rejected the highest bid. Reilly questioned the fairness of the sale after a meeting with Red Sox chief executive officer John Harrington.

In the letter, Tamposi said Prentice's bid carried risks that would have forced them to demand strict splits.

Instead, he wrote, limited partners agreed to give the trust a higher share and accept less because they believed Henry's group would win quick approval from baseball owners. Henry currently owns the Florida Marlins.

"There was no pressure exerted upon the limited partners by Harrington in any way, except in a laudable aspect _ his steadfast commitment to obtain the most money for the Yawkey Foundation … at his personal expense," he said in the letter, according to the Globe.

Of Prentice's bid, Tamposi added: "If we gamble for the long dollar, we subject ourselves to the vagaries of financing that might never come together."

Under Henry's bid, the trust would receive 62 percent of the proceeds of the sale, even though it owns only 53 percent.

The Tamposi family owns one limited partnership unit, or 2.4 percent of the team. Family members would receive $12.5 million from the Henry bid.

Reilly has suggested that Congress should examine the sale as part of its hearings on the antitrust exemption that baseball enjoys, according to the Boston Herald.

Reilly, whose office oversees charities and charitable trusts, said he has an obligation to make sure that the charities receive the maximum benefit from the sale.

The Globe is owned by The New York Times Co., part of Henry's ownership group.